Bring Me To Life
by Starfire Tamaran
Summary: Melina Ferreira has been good friends with Evy and Jonathan for as long as she can remember. When they set off on an adventure to the ancient lost city known as Hamunaptura, Melina is quick to join them. However, she didn't expect the following to happen on her journey: Inadvertently bringing a powerful mummy back to life was the first. And the second? Falling for a Medjai.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mummy or any of the characters in it. The only character I own is Melina/Sahirah. I'm no Egyptologist so please let me know if something is inaccurate. Feedback (other than the usual 'update soon') is strongly appreciated. Please review and enjoy!**_

* * *

_Sahirah stood atop her balcony, gazing out at the city of Thebes. Just seeing its aesthetic beauty helped her clear her head whenever she needed to. She was so deep in thought she hadn't heard the double doors to her chamber open._

"_Beautiful isn't it?"_

_Her eyes snapped open and she jumped slightly upon hearing Imhotep's voice. She looked over her shoulder to see him staring at her. She nodded without saying a word and looked back at the horizon. "Forgive me Princess Sahirah, I did not mean to startle you," he said, his eyes now filled with worry._

"_You are forgiven," she replied. He nodded in response before walking forward to stand beside her. She glanced at Imhotep once more, who was still staring so intently at her. She sighed. She knew where this was going. This wasn't the first time he'd confronted her about his feelings for her. She'd told him many times that she didn't feel the same way but Imhotep was known for being very persistent. It didn't help that her father wanted her to marry him someday either._

"_It's getting late, you should go," she muttered. He placed his hand under her chin, lifting her head so that their eyes finally met. "I understand, but there is something I must say first. You just need to hear it... I love you, Sahira," he whispered. Then he pulled her close and kissed her. _

_She immediately pulled away, her eyes full of disbelief. "You need to leave, now," she said, her tone icy._

_He narrowed his eyes. "Is there somebody else? Is my love not enough?" _

"_Yes, and yes," she admitted. While she may not have felt anything for Imhotep, Asim was a different story. Asim was her protector and the love of her life. Neither her father, her sister, Imhotep, nor anyone else knew that she was in love with a Medjai and she intended to keep it that way._

_After Imhotep left her residence, she turned around and gazed at the view once more. The double doors swung open again a minute later. She let out an aggravated sigh. "Go away, Imhotep," she huffed, annoyance clear in her voice._

"_Is everything alright?" She snapped her head to look at the Medjai warrior that now stood in her doorway. He wore a black headdress that covered his long raven black hair. Arabic tattoos adorned both of his cheeks. His facial hair made him even more handsome and she was glad that she'd allowed him to grow it._

_She was still learning how to defend herself so her father had assigned Asim to protect her for the time being. At first she was opposed to the idea, but the more time she spent with Asim, the more she fell in love._

"_Forgive me, I am not having the best night," she sighed. She walked past him and closed the doors, making sure that no one would see them if they walked by. _

"_Perhaps I can make it better, if you want me to…" he let his voice trail off. She turned around and placed her hand on his cheek. Then she leaned in until their lips met in a passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss while her hands rested on the back of his neck. She'd never love another man as much as she loved Asim. Her heart belonged to him. It would always belong to him._

Evy's scream snapped me out of my daydream. Looking over, I saw her grabbing the top of the ladder which now stood straight up. She clung to it for dear life and I knew I had to think fast or else Dr. Bey was going to have both of our heads.

"Evy don't move! Hold on!" I ordered before dashing over to her. Unfortunately I ended up tripping over a book that she must've dropped while up there. I fell right into the ladder and Evy screamed again as she lost her balance. That's when the domino effect kicked in. Each bookshelf crashed into the next. Thousands of volumes and individual papers were flung off the shelves and scattered across the floor.

Groaning, I got to my feet and rubbed my head. I looked around and gulped, my heart now racing at the sight of the mess I just made.

"Oops," Evy mumbled, taking her glasses off.

"We have to clean this up or els-"I started to say but was cut off when Dr. Bey stormed in.

"Look at this! Sons of the Pharaohs! Give me frogs, flies, locusts, anything but you two! Compared to you two the other plagues were a joy!" he exclaimed.

"We're so sorry, it was an accident," Evy replied.

"When Ramses destroyed Syria, that was an accident. You two are a catastrophe! Look at my library! Why do I put up with you both?"he asked rhetorically.

"Well, you put up with us because um, we can read and write Ancient Egyptian and we can decipher hieroglyphics and hieratic and we are the only people within a thousand miles that know how to properly code and catalogue this library," Evy stated.

"That's why," I chimed in.

Dr. Bey quirked a brow, clearly annoyed by Evy's speech and me butting in. "I put up with you both because your parents were our finest patrons that's why. Allah rest all four of their souls. Now, I don't care how you two do it. I don't care how long it takes. Straighten up this mess!" He barked before storming out.

My name is Melina Ferreira. I was born in Brazil and have the accent to prove it. My mother was Egyptian and she met my father when she decided to take a trip to São Paulo. I was very close with my parents and I loved them dearly so I was pretty devastated when they both passed away when I was 16. Now, at age 23, I was working alongside Evy as a librarian.

"You heard him, let's get to it," I huffed, picking up some of the volumes and papers. Suddenly, I heard an unfamiliar noise. I turned around, instantly dropping the books and papers before looking at Evy. "What was that?" I gulped.

"I don't know, but we're about to find out," she said.

"….. I think I'd rather stay here and clean up," I mumbled. She rolled her eyes and lightly grabbed me by the arm. "Oh, stop being so paranoid Melina! Something probably just fell over."

"As if we didn't have a big enough mess to clean up already…."

* * *

"Hello?" Evy called out as we entered the Ramesseum. The room was filled with treasures from the Middle Kingdom and the only light in the room was from the flickering torches. In other words, it was dark and creepy. A few moments of silence passed before she grabbed a torch. She slowly shuffled across the floor with me following suit.

"Abdul? Mohammed? Bob?" She said quietly.

"Evy, even if they were alive I doubt they would give you a proper greeting," I retorted. Then, we heard that noise again. My heart sped up again once I noticed the now open sarcophagus. Before I could protest, Evy leaned forward and peered inside. Then, a hideous, rotted mummy sat up and screeched at us! We both screamed and backed away, both scared out of our wits.

I had the biggest urge to slap Jonathan once I heard him laughing. He sat up and grinned at us.

"Have you no respect for the dead?!" Evy snapped, setting the torch down.

"Of course I do! But sometimes, I'd rather like to join them," he grinned drunkenly.

"Be careful what you wish for," I mumbled under my breath.

"Nice to see you too, Melina," Jonathan winked at me before looking back Evy who was trying to put the mummy back in the sarcophagus. "And I wish you would so it sooner rather than later before you ruin my career the way you ruined yours," she said before slapping him. "Now get out!"

Jonathan started to climb out with ease. "My dear, sweet baby sister I'll have you… know that at this precise moment my career is on a high note."

"High note. Ha! Jonathan please, I'm really not in the mood for you. Melina and I have made a bit of a mess in the library and the Bembridge scholars have rejected my application form again," she replied, sitting on the base of a statue nearby. "They say I don't have enough experience in the field."

"You'll always have me old mom," Jonathon said, sitting down beside her.

I shook my head in disbelief. "That's ridiculous! You have tons of experience and if they can't see that then it's their loss."

"I suppose," she sighed.

"Besides, I have just the thing to cheer you up," Jonathan said before running back to the case.

"Oh no, Jonathan, not another worthless trinket. If I have to take one more piece of junk to the curator to try and… sell for you…" Evy stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the box Jonathan had presented to her. "Where did you get this?"

"On a dig down in Thebes," he chuckled a bit.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that mischievous chuckle all to well. Said mischievous chuckle only meant one thing: he was lying.

Evy rolled the box around in her hands, studying the various hieroglyphics on it.

"My whole life I've never found anything, Evy. Tell me I've found something," Jonathan said.

Evy turned the box over in her hands, shifting the various slats on it. Then, it mechanically unfolded itself. Sitting inside the now open box was a folded piece of golden papyrus.

"Whoa…." I whispered, leaning forward to get a better view.

"Jonathan?" Evy said.

"Yes?"

"I think you've found something."

* * *

"See the cartouche there; it's the official royal seal of Seti the First. I'm sure of it," Evy said excitedly as she paced around Dr. Bey's office.

"Perhaps," he replied, unimpressed.

"Two questions," Jonathan cut in. "Who the hell was Seti the First and was he rich?"

"He was the second Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty," Evy informed him.

"Said to be the wealthiest pharaoh of them all," I finished.

"Good. That's good. I like this fellow. I like him very much," Jonathan beamed.

"I've already dated the map; it's almost three thousand years old. And if you look at the hieratics over here, well..." Evy inhaled deeply, "its Hamunaptra."

I looked at Dr. Bey, who momentarily froze in nervousness. He noticed me staring at him and quickly recovered. "Dear girl, don't be ridiculous. We are scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra is a myth told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists," he scoffed.

"Yes, yes I know all the silly blabber about the city being protected by the curse of the mummy nonsense, but my research has lead me to believe that the city itself may have actually existed."

"Are we talking about _the_ Hamunaptra?" Jonathan asked.

"Indeed we are! _The _Hamunaptra!" I said excitedly.

Evy smiled. "Yes. The City of the Dead. Where the earliest Pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt."

Jonathan nodded. "Yes, yes. In a big underground treasure chamber. Everybody knows the story. The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand. On Pharaoh's command, a flick of the switch! And the whole place would disappear beneath the dunes, taking the treasure with it."

We were all so immersed in our individual fantasies of Hamanaptura's fortune that we didn't even notice that Dr. Bey was holding the map a little too close to the candle lamp on his desk.

"As the Americans would say: it's all fairy tales and hokum…"

A blaze followed by a crackling noise brought us back to reality; the map was on fire. Dr. Bey tossed it to the floor.

"NOOOOO!" I yelled. I fell to my knees and tried to put out the map. Jonathon and Evy tried to help me but the damage was already done. A large portion was burned off.

Jonathan lifted the map and stared at it. "You've burnt it! You've burnt off a part of the lost city!" he yelled.

"It's for the best, I'm sure. Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra, no one's ever found it. Most have never returned," Dr. Bey argued.

I glared at him. His argument was bullshit. I sensed that he was definitely hiding something from us. Why else would he purposely set the map on fire?

* * *

After that Jonathan decided to show us where he really found the box. Turns out he stole it from a drunk who was now Cairo prison. One of the worst hell holes on earth. Every low-life form of scumbag was in here. The warden was also a first rate scumbag himself and he smelled awful.

"You told me you found it in a dig down in Thebes!" Evy whispered angrily to Jonathan as the warden escorted us across the courtyard.

"I was mistaken."

"You lied to me!"

"I lie to everybody, what makes you so special?

"I'm your sister!"

"That just makes you more gullible."

"Jonathan you stole it from a drunk at the local Casbah!"

"Picked his pocket, actually."

I couldn't help but snicker at their argument, it was rather amusing. However, my entertainment didn't last long as the warden ushered us to the holding pen.

"So, what exactly is he in for?" I asked.

The warden shrugged. "Well this I do not know. When I heard you were coming, I asked him that myself."

"And what did he say?" Evy inquired.

"He said… he was just looking for a good time."

The cell doors behind the bars burst open. Two guards barely restrained a wild looking Caucasian man. His face was half hidden by long hair, a scraggly beard and many new bruises.

Evy looked disgusted by his appearance. "This is the man you stole it from?" She asked Jonathon.

"Who are you?" the prisoner asked Jonathan before looking at Evy and I. "And who are these broads?"

"Broad?!" Evy exclaimed, offended.

"I've been called worse," I shrugged.

"Well, I-I'm just a local, sort of missionary rate chap, spreading the good word and whatnot but this is my sister Evy and my very good friend Melina," Jonathan answered.

Evy smiled. "How do you do?"

The man rolled his eyes. "Yeah… Well guess she's not a total loss."

"I beg your pardon?!"

I had to bite my lip in order to contain my laughter. The look on Evy's face was priceless.

"I'll be back in a moment," the warden said before leaving the pen.

"Ask him about the box," Jonathan whispered.

Evy turned her attention back to the man. "Um, we have found- Uh, hello. Excuse me. We've found your puzzle box and we've come to ask you about it."

"No," he said.

"No?"

"No, you came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

"H-How do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?"

"Because that's where I was when I found it. I was there."

Evy looked dumbstruck, but Jonathan on the other hand looked suspicious.

"How do we know that's not a load of pig swallow?" He asked, stepping closer to the bars.

The man studied Jonathan's face, recognition clear in his eyes.

'_This will end badly' _I thought.

"You know, don't I know you?"

"No, no. I've just got one of those faces," he said quickly.

The man reached through the bars and punched him, only to get clubbed a few times by the guard after doing so.

"Saw that one coming," I said, glancing down at Jonathan's now unconscious body. Evy stepped over him and looked back at the man. "You were actually at Hamunaptra?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I was there."

"You swear?"

"Every damn day."

"No, I didn't mean that…"

"I know what you meant. I was there. Seti's place. City of the Dead."

"C-Could you tell me how to get there? I mean the exact location," she whispered the last part.

"You want to know?"

Evy nodded and leaned in closer. "Yes."

"Do you really want to know?"

"Y-Yes."

He motioned for her to come closer. Then he grabbed her chin and kissed her.

"Then get me the hell outta here!" he yelled.

The guards grabbed him again and started beating him with clubs but he fought back. "Do it lady!" he spat before being dragged back inside.

"Where are they taking him?" I asked.

"To be hanged. Apparently, he had a very good time," the warden replied. I bit my lip and looked at Evy, hoping to God that she had a plan because I sure as hell didn't. Seeing my expression, she just nodded her head. She was going to make sure that this man wasn't hanged today.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **__Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed, faved, and followed. You guys are the best!_

_**Yugioh13 - **__Thanks! Yup, leave it to Melina to practically destroy the library just by tripping over a book. Thanks again for reviewing! :D __** X Blue Eyed Demon X – **__Thank you! __** LauRa-ReaDinG-XoX – **__I appreciate the criticism, describing things is not my strong suit when it comes to writing but hopefully I'll improve on that as the story goes on. _

* * *

We followed the warden onto the balcony just above the gallows. Thousands of filthy prisoners stared down onto the gallows as the man was forced up the steps. The warden sat in between Evy and I.

Evy looked at him. "I will give you one hundred pounds to save this man's life."

The warden rolled his eyes. "Madam, I would pay one hundred just to see him hanged."

"Two hundred pounds then!" I said quickly, hoping he would give in.

He shook his head and looked at the executioner. "Proceed!" he yelled.

"Three hundred pounds!" Evy shouted as the executioner tightened the rope around the man's neck. The executioner said something to the man who replied, which made him confused. The executioner looked back at the warden and said something in Arabic and the warden frowned and yelled back in Arabic. "Of course don't let him go!" he yelled in English, before reverting back to Arabic a couple seconds later.

"Five hundred pounds, dammit!" I spat, giving the warden a desperate look.

He held his hand up and motioned for the executioner to stop before looking back at me. He gave me a lecherous smile, showing off his disgusting, green teeth. "And what else? I'm a very lonely man," he placed his hand on my thigh. I glared at him and slapped him across the face.

The warden, obviously angry that I rejected him, turned and looked back at the executioner and yelled in Arabic. "NO!" Evy and I yelled, getting to our feet as the executioner pulled the lever. The man dropped through the hole and his body snapped at the end of the rope.

"Ah! His neck did not break! Oh, I'm so sorry. Now we must watch him strangle to death," the warden stated.

Evy and I sat back down and looked at him. "He knows the location to Hamunaptra," she said, which immediately got the warden's attention.

"You lie!"

"I would never!"

"Are you saying this filthy godless son of a pig knows where to find The City Of The Dead? Truly?!"

"YES!" I cut in.

Evy nodded in agreement. "And if you cut him down we will give you…. ten percent."

"Fifty percent!"

"Twenty!"

"Forty!"

"Thirty!"

"Twenty-five!"

"Deal!" I smirked. The warden groaned, now realizing his mistake, but then turned and shouted in Arabic. In a split second, the rope was cut and the man fell to the ground. All of the prisoners burst into cheers as Evy and I stood up. We smirked at the man as he rolled over and looked up at us.

* * *

We didn't waste any time in following the map. Once we'd left the prison, Evy told the man, who introduced himself to us as Rick O'Connell, to meet us at the Giza Port at two o'clock. We packed our things and headed down to the docks.

"Do you really think he's going to show up?" Evy asked as we walked down the boardwalk.

"Yes, undoubtedly knowing my luck. He may be a cowboy, but I know the breed as well as his word," Jonathan replied.

Evy rolled her eyes. "Well I don't like him one bit," she scoffed.

"Evy, please. Even a blind man could see how dazed you were after that kiss he gave you. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you have a thing for the man," I snickered.

"I do not! He's filthy, rude, and a complete scoundrel!" she argued.

"Anyone I know?" another voice asked behind us. We turned around to see a now very cleaned up Rick O'Connell. His long, dirty hair had been washed and cut. He'd also shaved and changed his clothes.

"Oh! Um… Hello," Evy stammered, taking in his new appearance.

Jonathan grinned and shook Rick's hand. "Smashing way to start our adventure, eh, O'Connell?"

"Yeah, yeah… smashing," Rick replied, pulling his hand away and checking for a small book. I knew he certainly didn't want Jonathan to steal anything else from him.

"Oh, I wouldn't steal from a partner, partner," Jonathan grinned, giving him a supportive smack on the arm.

"Oh, that reminds me, no hard feelings about the…." Rick let his voice trail off as he imitated the punch he'd given Jonathan earlier. Jonathan simply waved his hand, which meant that he was willing to let bygones be bygones. That's when Evy spoke up. "Mr. O'Connell, can you look me in the eye and guarantee that this isn't all sort of a flim flam, because if it is I'm warning you I will-"

"You're warning me? Lady, let me put it this way, my whole damn garrison believed in this so much that without orders they marched half-way across Libya and into Egypt to find that city, and when we got there all we found was sand and blood," Rick explained. Although, Evy didn't say anything, she definitely looked convinced. "Let me get your bags," he said, taking mine and Evy's. We all watched as he walked up the plank and onto the boat. "Oh yes, Evy. He's definitely rude, filthy, and a complete scoundrel," I quipped.

Evy just shook her head. Then the one person I didn't expect or want to see approached us, the asshole warden. "Right, good morning to all," he smirked.

"Oh God, please tell me you're not tagging along!" I yelled, exasperated.

"I'm here to protect my investment! Thank you very much!" he spat, heading up the plank.

"How about I throw you of the boat instead? Prick," I mumbled under my breath before walking onto the boat.

* * *

Later that night, I walked up to the front deck to find Jonathan and a bunch of Americans playing poker.

"Well, hello there. I'm Henderson. What's an angel like you doing so far away from heaven?" the blonde one asked, putting his hand on my hip and pulling me close to him.

I smirked and grabbed his wrist before twisting it. "Leave your hand there another second, and you'll lose it," I growled and released his hand.

"Care to join us Melina? We could use another player," Jonathan said cheerfully, ignoring the fact that I just threatened to cut this guy's hand off.

"Poker huh? Alright, count me in," I replied, sitting down.

"What does a woman know about playing poker? Oh, this should be interesting," a man in a red fez and a monocle spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I don't associate with sexist pricks," I retorted, earning a bunch of 'ooohs' from the guys.

"I like you, honey. You've got a mouth on ya. However, I bet you five-hundred bucks that we make it to Hamunaptra before you do," the guy across from me said. He had short black hair and blue eyes.

I quirked a brow. "How do you know I'm going to Hamunaptra?"

"Sorry lass, I sort of spilled the beans to them," Jonathan said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Nice going, moron," I sneered before looking back at the man, "alright, I accept your challenge, let's do this."

Our little poker game went on for about an hour. The other two guys introduced themselves to me as Burns and Daniels. All of them had already laid most of their money out on the table as did I. Being the arrogant Americans that they were; they thought that most girls were airheads when it came to playing poker. However, I had a few tricks of my own up my sleeve. Unbeknownst to them, Jonathan had taught me how to play a couple months after I'd first met him.

"Ready to give up yet, sweetheart?" Henderson grinned.

"If you do then maybe we'll consider giving you ten percent of the treasure we find at Hamunaptra," Burns said. They all started roaring with laughter, minus Jonathan of course.

"Why would I give up when I have the best hand?" I laid my cards on the table and folded my arms. "A Royal Flush boys, read it and weep!"

"Impossible!" Henderson yelled, staring at my cards in disbelief.

Daniels nodded in agreement. "This is bullshit! You cheated!"

I bent over and began to pick up the money on the table before stuffing it in my coat pocket. "Never underestimate a woman. And for the record, I didn't cheat, never have. I just had a really good teacher," I looked at Jonathan and smiled. I took a few twenties and fifties out of my pocket and handed them to him. "Thanks for teaching me everything you know."

"Anytime, Melina," he beamed.

* * *

I went back to my room and changed into a silk magenta-colored nightgown. Then I took my comb out of my bag and ran it through my hair a few times before setting it on the counter. Unfortunately, my elbow collided with a bar of soap nearby and it fell to the floor. With a sigh, I bent over and picked it up. I looked in the mirror and my eyes widened in horror. Standing right behind me was a man dressed in black with black fabric over his mouth. He grabbed me by the neck and slammed me up against the wall. In a flash, his scimitar was at my neck.

I couldn't help but stare into his eyes; they were so dark and mysterious. Something about them was very familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. "Please don't hurt me," I begged.

"No harm will come to you if you tell me where the map and the key are," he said thickly.

I wasn't about to risk getting my throat cut over a map and key, no matter how important they were. "I don't have them! I swear! They're in the other room!" I screamed and he released me.

That's when Rick barged in. He gave the guy a good right hook to the face before taking me by the wrist and running out of the room.

"Hold this," Rick ordered, tossing his bag to Evy before reloading his gun. I gulped as I looked around. Not only were we being attacked by various men dressed in black but now the boat was on fire!

We followed him across the deck while he shot at them. Once we reached the side of the boat Rick took his bag from Evy and tossed it to the ground.

"Can you swim?!" he asked Evy.

"Of course I can swim if the occasion calls for it!" She exclaimed.

"Trust me, it calls for it!" he said as he picked her and tossed her over the side of the boat. Then he turned to me. "Don't even think about it! I swear to God I'll castrate you Rick!" I spat.

He picked me up and shook his head. "Yeah, I've heard that before," he said sarcastically before tossing me overboard.

Rick jumped in about a minute later followed by the warden. I started to follow them and Evy but then I stopped swimming once I realized Jonathan wasn't with us. "Where the hell's Jonathan?!" I yelled, looking around.

"He'll be fine, just come on!" Rick barked.

"I say! Bloody good show chaps! And did I panic? I think not!" I heard Jonathan's cocky voice nearby. I turned around to see him fall over the railing due to an explosion. He swam to the surface and looked at me. "What was that about 'not panicking' Jonathan?" I snickered.

"Oh, shut up!" He huffed before turning around and swimming towards the river bank with me following suit.

* * *

"We've lost everything! All of our tools, all of the equipment! All of mine and Melina's clothes!" Evy whimpered as we made it to the river bank.

"O'Connell! Hey! O'Connell!"

We all turned to see a skinny man on the other side of the river yelling at Rick. Wow, and I thought the warden was huge a pain in the ass…

"It looks to me like I've got all the horses!" the skinny man shouted.

"Hey Beni! It looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!" Rick shot back, tauntingly.

"So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, weasel!" I hollered.

Beni looked around and started cursing as he kicked the water, obviously realizing what Rick said was true. I squeezed the water from my gown and sighed. "What are we gonna do now?" I asked.

"There's a village not too far from here. If we head there now we can make it there by morning. They'll give us what we need," Rick replied.

"Good to know," I muttered. We collected what little we had left and walked into the desert night.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been super busy with college but hopefully this chapter will make up for my absence. Enjoy!_

_**X Blue Eyed Demon X, ZabuzasGirl, sarahmichellegellarfan1, Black Dragon 42, and little-red-wolf-5793 –**__ I'm so happy that all of you like this story so much! Thank you so much for all of your enthusiastic reviews! :D __**Vixen of Imagination – **__Oh, believe me, the interaction between them will be very interesting to say the least. __**Yugioh13 – **__I'm glad you liked it XD Yeah, and you can expect her to insult Beni a lot since he annoys her more than the warden does. __**Bhumi – **__Thank you! That really means a lot to me and I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that Ardeth should've found love in the movie_

* * *

The next morning, we finally arrived at the village. Jonathan and Rick went to buy some camels for the trip while Evy and I went into one of the tents to get some new clothes. The warden –being the huge perv that he is – tried to peek in as Evy and I were changing. Luckily for us, the women kicked him out (and slapped him a few times while doing so).

Once we were ready, we bowed and thanked the women and left the tent. Evy and I were now wearing black and dark red Bedouin gowns, complete with veils. Then we walked towards Rick and Jonathan. I smirked once I saw that Rick couldn't take his eyes of Evy. Yup, love was definitely in the air.

"You look very beautiful, Melina," Jonathan commented as he helped me onto the camel before getting onto his. "You don't look so bad yourself, jungle boy," I grinned, gesturing to his pith helmet.

We followed Evy and Rick towards the desert. We'd only been travelling for about five minutes when Jonathan made a snide comment about the camels. "Never did like camels, filthy buggars. They smell, they bite, they spit," he complained. He just described the warden and I couldn't help but snicker.

"I think they're adorable," Evy smiled, petting her camel's head.

Then the warden started to sing some weird song, stopping at times to spit. It was extremely irritating to say the least.

It wasn't long before the sun went down. Evy had already started to fall asleep and leaned on Rick's shoulder. He slowly pushed her up and over to make sure she wouldn't fall off.

"You really like her, don't you?" I whispered, he turned his head towards mine.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Just stating the obvious, that's all," I shrugged. I knew deep down he liked her, he just didn't want to admit it.

"I was just making sure she wouldn't fall off," he explained lamely. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," I muttered.

"…You should get some rest. I have a feeling you're gonna need it."

"Fine."

* * *

I wound up getting very little sleep due to the fact that I had to sleep sitting up. I saw a few horses and a camel in the distance as we got closer. Turns out the Americans and Beni had met up with us at the same time.

"Good morning my friend!" Beni called to Rick as we approached them.

"This morning would be a lot better if you magically disappeared," I muttered under my breath.

"What the hell we doin?" Daniels huffed as they came to a complete stop next to us.

"Patience, my good friend, patience," Beni replied, turning his head slightly to look at him.

"Remember our bet you two? First one to the city, five hundred cash bucks," Henderson said, looking over at Rick and I. I couldn't believe they still had that much money left considering I beat them at poker.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, hoping to God we didn't lose this bet. The last thing I wanted was to lose five hundred bucks to some arrogant Americans.

"Don't worry; we've got this in the bag," Rick whispered to me.

"I hope so," I mumbled.

"A hundred of that is yours if you help us win the bet," Daniels told Beni.

"Oh, my pleasure," he mumbled before turning to Rick. "Hey O'Connell, nice camel," he snickered.

Rick scoffed at him before glancing over at the horizon. "Get ready for it," he told us.

"For what?" Evy asked curiously.

"We're about to be shown the way," he replied. We all glanced over at the horizon as the sun began to rise. Jonathan had to squint in order to see what was about to happen. My eyes widened once I saw the sun's ray reveal the city, it was incredible.

"Oh my God," I whispered.

"Would you look at that?" Henderson asked, leaning forward on his horse.

"Can you believe…" Daniels said, letting his voice trail off.

"Hamunaptra," Burns finished.

"Here we go again," Rick muttered, sounding more reluctant than excited.

Once the city was fully revealed, everyone started racing forward on their horses and camels. I held on tight as I made my camel go faster, catching up with Rick a couple feet away from him. Beni started hitting Rick with the riding crop, only to be thrown off his camel a few seconds later.

"That's what you get for being a pain in the ass," I said as I rode past him. Soon enough, Evy's camel went faster and she took the lead.

"Woooooo! Go Evy! Go!" Jonathan shouted, waving his riding crop. We all followed close behind as she reached the city limits.

* * *

"Melina, could you give me a hand with this?" Evy asked, trying to rub some dirt off a giant mirror.

"Of course," I nodded before trying to scrub the dirt off. I started to move the mirror upwards when Rick walked over to us.

"So uh, what are these old mirrors for?" he inquired.

"Ancient mirrors, it's an Egyptian trick, you'll see," Evy replied, helping me move it.

"Uh here, this is uhh for you." He handed her a brown rolled up piece of leather. "Go ahead, its uhhh something I borrowed off our American brethren. I thought you might like it, you might need it. For when you're uh... down," he said, making a motion with his hands. I had to cover my mouth in order to hide my smile. Rick definitely liked her and I could tell the feeling was mutual.

"Hey, look for bugs. I hate bugs," the warden ordered as Rick swung down on a rope into the opening underground. I grabbed the rope and swung in, clutching it tightly as I climbed down. Then Evy climbed down.

"Do you realize we're standing in a room that no one has entered in over three thousand years?" Evy said quietly as she looked around the room.

"What is that God awful stench?" Jonathan exclaimed, shaking his hands a bit.

"I'll give you one guess," I said smugly, motioning to the warden who was now coming down the rope. All Jonathan said was "oh!" and quickly dropped the subject.

Evy walked over to a mirror that was tilted downwards, she wiped the cobwebs off it and tilted upwards towards the opening in the ceiling.

"And then there was light." The entire room lit up as the mirror caught the reflection of the mirrors outside and hit the other mirrors around the room.

"Hey, that is a neat trick," Rick remarked, obviously impressed.

"Oh my God." Evy said. "It's Sah-Netjer!"

"What?"

"A preparation room."

"Preparation for what?" Rick asked as we walked deeper into the room.

"For entering the afterlife," I replied, putting on a spooky voice.

"Mummies, my good son. This is where they made the mummies," Jonathan stated, catching up to us. We walked into the corridors with Rick leading the way. The sounds of bugs crawling around us could be heard and we frantically looked around.

"What was that?" Jonathan breathed out.

"Bugs. Scarabs to be exact. I've done enough research on them to know what they look and sound like," I murmured, looking around.

"What do you mean bugs? I hate bugs!" The warden snapped as he waved his torch around.

* * *

"The legs of Anubis," Evy said as we entered the next room.

"So that means the secret compartment should be hidden somewhere inside here," I said, moving forward to get a closer look.

Suddenly, there was a loudly ghostly noise. We all backed up against the statue and Rick, Jonathan, and the warden cocked their guns. Rick handed me one of his guns as we slowly walked forward. Then we flung ourselves around the corner and pointed our guns at the Americans who were doing the same to us.

"You scared the bejesus out of us O'Connell," Henderson said, lowering his gun.

"Likewise," he replied, lowering his as well. The rest of us followed suit.

"Hey! " Burns exclaimed, taking a step forward once he saw what was in Evy's hands. "That's my toolkit."

"No, I don't think so," Rick snapped. Instantly, all guns were raised again.

"Okay, perhaps I was mistaken," Burns muttered, taking a step back. Everyone lowered their weapons once again.

"Well, have a nice day gentleman. We have a lot of work to be getting along with," Evy stated as she looked at the Americans.

"Push off! This is our dig site." The sexist prick in the red fez said.

"We got here first, asshole," I hissed, raising the gun. Everyone else's guns shot up again at the same time.

"This here is our statue, friend," Daniels spat, aiming his gun at Rick.

"I don't see your name written on it, pal," Rick replied acidly.

"Yes well since there is only five of you and fifteen of me… Your odds are not so great O'Connell," Beni said smugly.

"I've had worse," Rick said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, me too," Jonathan added, earning him a look from Rick and I.

"Oh look for goodness sake. Let's be nice children. If we're going to play together, we must learn to share," Evy cooed as she stepped in between the two groups.

"I don't share," I hissed, tightening my grip on the gun.

Evy placed her hand on my shoulder. "There are other places to dig…"

Reluctantly, I lowered the gun and handed it back to Rick. Just judging by the twinkle in Evy's eye, I could tell she knew something we didn't.

* * *

We made our way down the floor below. Jonathan, Rick, and I were currently digging a hole right through the ceiling in an attempt to find the book.

"According to these hieroglyphics, we're underneath the statue. We should come up right between his legs," Evy said, excited.

"So when those damn yanks go to sleep… no offence," Jonathan trailed off while looking at Rick who didn't seem too bothered by it. "We'll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under them."

"Are you sure we can find this secret compartment thing?" Rick asked Evy.

"Ah, yes if those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it," She replied. "No offence."

"None taken."

I looked around and noticed that the warden was no longer with us. "Looks like the pain in the ass decided to ditch us…"

Evy, Jonathan, and Rick looked around as well but shrugged the warden's absence off and continued to dig.

We dug for another ten minutes before taking a break. Jonathan started playing golf with some rocks while Evy and I explained the mummification process to Rick.

"Let me get this straight, they ripped out your guts and they stuffed them in jars?" Rick asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"And then they take out your heart as well," I added as Jonathan looked over at us. "Oh! And you know how they took out your brains?" Evy asked.

"Melina… Evy…. I don't think we need to know this," Jonathan whined as he raised his hammer for another shot.

"They take a sharp, red hot poker. Stick it up your nose, scramble things around a bit, and then rip it all out through your nostrils," Evy said excitedly.

Rick cringed. "Ohhh, that's gotta hurt."

"It's called mummification, you'll be dead when they do this," she informed him.

Rick nodded before looking at me. "For the record, if I don't make it out of here…. Don't put me down for mummification."

"Amen to that," I nodded.

Jonathan hit another rock up into the ceiling which immediately collapsed. Rocks and dust were flung everywhere as something fell into the middle of the room.

"Oh my God….." I whispered once I realized what it was: a sarcophagus.

"Oh my God… It's a sarcophagus," Evy said before glancing up at the ceiling. All of us followed suit and looked at the giant hole that was now in the ceiling. "Buried at the base of Anubis…." She looked down and shook her head. "He must've been someone of great importance…. Or he did something very naughty."

"Or both," I said, walking around it. I took a brush from Evy's toolkit and began to move some of the sand away. Evy and Rick followed suit and Jonathan held up his torch to get a better look.

"Well, who is it?" Jonathan asked, narrowing his eyes.

"He that shall not be named," Evy read as she looked at the ancient writing. Rick leaned forward and blew hard, revealing an odd looking symbol embedded into the sarcophagus.

"This looks like some sort of lock," Rick said, tapping his finger against it.

"Well, whoever was in here sure wasn't getting out," Jonathan stated.

"It'll take us forever to get this thing open without a key," I said.

"A key… a key, a key! That's what he was talking about," Evy announced before running over to Jonathans bag, rummaging through it until she found what she was looking for.

"Hey that's mine!" Jonathan whined but Evy ignored him and opened the puzzle box and placed it on the lock. It was a perfect fit. Before we even had the chance to turn it, a loud scream filled the room. We all ran into the corridors to see the warden clutching his head and screaming in pain. We stared in horror as he ran past us and continued to scream in agony. Then he ran head first into the wall before collapsing with a loud thud.

We remained speechless once the realization hit us: the warden was dead.


End file.
